Advent Passage Luke 3:23-38

At some point in the past decade, many of us probably bought a kit, collected our DNA, and eagerly awaited the results. For some, the news was shocking. Family trees got pruned. New branches were grafted onto stumps. A few mysteries got solved. Most of us learned we are not, in fact, one-sixteenth Cherokee.

The results reminded us that families are complex because they are made up of people just like us. Luke’s genealogy of Jesus through Joseph tells us a similar story. As you read through the list, you will recognize many familiar names, such as David, Abraham, Noah, and Adam.

You might also notice some surprises. For example, Luke traces Joseph’s lineage to King David through his younger son, Nathan, rather than King Solomon. Instead of a royal lineage, Luke focuses on Joseph’s sonship through Adam, the son of God.

In this way, Joseph’s genealogy reveals something important. Jesus was fully God, but He entered into the experience of being fully human through his earthly father’s family, complete with its sinful sons, gnarled family trees, and rules about birth order.

Joseph’s genealogy highlights that Jesus came not only to fulfill God’s promise to bless David with an Eternal King, but also to extend God’s mercy throughout the families of humanity. This extension includes us. We are grafted into the family, not because of our own merit, birth order, or DNA, but because of Jesus.

The Gospel of John explains: “Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God” (1:12-13). Regardless of our DNA results, we are all members of the same family, related by faith in Jesus.

Mary foretells this truth when she sings, “His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation” (Luke 1:50). What I think she means to say is, “Welcome to the family!”

© 2025 Lori Myers Berry

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